"Let's Netflix with Disruptive Innovation"... Chairman Sohn Tae-seung in 'DT Immersion'

'Managing Like Netflix' Strongly Recommended for Employees
Message on Creating New Value Through Disruptive Innovation

Son Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, is giving a lecture on digital innovation at the '2020 Second Half Management Strategy Workshop' last month.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] "Let's become the 'Netflix' of disruptive innovation." This is a recent message permeating Woori Financial Group. The messenger is Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, who is seeking fundamental change in the group through 'Digital Transformation (DT).' The phrase 'Let's be Netflix' means that Woori Financial should also create new value through a digital revolution, just like Netflix, which has become an icon of disruptive innovation.

According to Woori Financial on the 6th, Chairman Sohn has been recommending the book Managing Like Netflix, written by Professor Lee Hak-yeon of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, as a summer vacation read. The book introduces the relationship between the latest digital technologies and business trends in an easy and engaging way, helping readers who want to create a new future through business innovation using digital technology to become more familiar with digital concepts.

Disruptive innovation is a concept advocated by the late Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, referring to a strategy that targets the bottom of the market with simple and affordable products or services, thereby disrupting existing markets and dominating them.

Netflix, which rapidly grew from a DVD rental company to a 'giant' content company through its online streaming content business, is regarded as a symbol of disruptive innovation. The neologism 'Netflixed' is widely used colloquially in the market. It is similar to how 'Googling' became synonymous with 'internet searching.' The term, literally translated as 'to be Netflixed,' refers to a situation where an existing business model collapses due to bold innovation by a startup.

At the launch of the Group Digital Innovation Committee in May, Chairman Sohn personally gifted Managing Like Netflix to CEOs of group companies and executives at department head level and above. He also distributed the book during meetings with employees of 10 subsidiaries over two weeks in June.

As the chair of the Digital Innovation Committee, Chairman Sohn has adopted the slogan "Digital First, Change Everything." This reflects a sense of crisis that failure to innovate in the rapidly changing financial environment?driven by the COVID-19 pandemic-induced untact (non-face-to-face) trend, widespread data openness, and the entry of big tech companies into finance?could result in being 'Netflixed.'

A Woori Financial official said, "The content and purpose of the book align with the group's innovation direction, and since Chairman Sohn actively recommends it, many employees are interested and reading it. There is a widely shared sense of crisis among employees that growth will be difficult with the methods used so far."

'Digital First, Change Everything' Slogan
Woori Financial Pursues Fundamental Change Amid Crisis

Following Chairman Sohn's policy, Woori Financial is conducting online training on 'DT and Information Technology (IT) knowledge content' for all employees across the group to secure digital expertise. Additionally, from April to last month, a 'Digital Reverse Mentoring' program was held, where younger employees mentored management on external digital trends and the composition, content, and utilization of digital services within the group.

Recently, a Digital Innovation Forum was held with Chairman Sohn and the group's 'Blue Team.' The discussion was so intense that the scheduled two-hour session extended to nearly three hours. The Blue Team candidly raised issues to Chairman Sohn, such as the group's digital innovation pace not keeping up with the rapidly changing financial environment and the group's digital content user interface (UI) still lagging behind trends.

The Blue Team is a kind of future design organization preparing for the 'post-COVID' era by generating customer-centric ideas and keeping pace with the rapidly changing financial industry trends. About 20 mid-level employees from group companies participate. Last month, Chairman Sohn instructed executives attending the forum to listen to and reflect the Blue Team's opinions when advancing key projects discussed at the Digital Innovation Committee, such as comprehensive payment service providers and MyData business.

A Woori Financial official explained, "Chairman Sohn believes that the solution for the 'post-COVID' era lies in digital innovation, and that digital innovation should be led by young talents who are sensitive to change. There will be more opportunities to communicate with younger employees going forward."